Chicago Cubs: Maddon finds leadoff man, spark-plug in Anthony Rizzo

The Chicago Cubs could certainly use a spark-plug, and they might have gotten one in newly-appointed leadoff hitter Anthony Rizzo.

Maybe Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon is a genius, or maybe he just pressed the right button.

Either way, his decision to bump a struggling Anthony Rizzo up to the leadoff role might be one of his finest moves yet. And it’s already paying dividends for an inconsistent Cubs team in desperate need of a spark.

Rizzo, a .292 hitter last year, typically finds himself in the thick of the Cubbies lineup. His early-season struggles didn’t wash away with April’s ugly weather, but instead persisted– a pretty significant reason as to why the Cubs are just two games over .500 in mid-June.

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The 27-year old’s troubles reached their peak in May, and he finished the month with an average of .194 and a slugging percentage of .398 — uncharacteristic for a slugger like Rizzo. This is a guy who launched more than 30 home runs in each of the last three seasons and is trying to follow up a 2016 campaign in which he notched career-bests in nearly all offensive categories.

Since his promotion, or demotion rather, to the top of the lineup on June 13, Rizzo has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters. His .357 average, four homers, and 10 RBI in the stretch of seven games could suggest that Rizzo has cemented his spot as the everyday leadoff hitter the Cubs sought out for.

Since Maddon’s experiment, Rizzo has been able to reach base far more consistently. A fourteen-game hit streak from the first basemen and his first inning theatrics might as well be the reason for five wins in Chicago’s last seven tries.

Maddon has been searching for a steady leadoff hitter for quite some time now. He’s penciled in guys like Kyle Schwarber and Ben Zobrist this year, but both have failed to stick around. The revolving door found its way to Rizzo, who’s thrived at the opportunity to lead the Cubbies off.

With Maddon’s superstitious ways and the urgency to start playing better, it appears the Cubs have found their man, who’s already humorously tabbed himself as the greatest leadoff hitter the game’s ever seen.

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From their 2016 mantra of ‘Try not to Suck’ to an 8-6-7-5-3-0-9 lineup with the 2014 Tampa Bay Rays in honor of Tommy Tutone’s “Jenny”, put this on Maddon’s resume of unorthodox management.

And while it seemed like a crazy idea off the bat, it just might’ve worked. Maybe he’s a genius after all.

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